Abstract
In the UK marine-dredged sand and gravel make a major contribution to meeting the demand for raw materials for the construction industry. In order to develop an improved awareness of marine aggregate resources, and to assist in planning, the Department of the Environment and the Crown Estate Commissioners (jointly responsible for the management of the aggregate dredging licencing system) have recently commissioned the British Geological Survey to undertake a programme of research designed to investigate offshore resources of sand and gravel.
A desk study to summarise available information and to locate potential marine aggregate resources in the Southern North Sea commenced in 1986. This review identified an area off East Anglia for more detailed investigation and subsequently this was surveyed in 1986–87.
The research has established the distribution and potential quality of marine sand and gravel resources. Geophysical, sampling and coring techniques have allowed the thickness and lithology of the Holocene sediments and of the underlying Pleistocene sediments to be determined. The survey has shown the complexity of the surface and sub-surface sediments and the fundamental importance of an understanding of the regional geology of the area to the determination of marine aggregate resource potential.
Further studies are planned in the remaining areas of the UK continental shelf.
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© 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Ardus, D.A., Harrison, D.J. (1990). The Assessment of Aggregate Resources from the UK Continental Shelf. In: Ardus, D.A., Champ, M.A. (eds) Ocean Resources. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2131-3_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2131-3_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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